Summer School in January marked the first back-to-campus iteration of UCT’s famed festival of learning since COVID-19 lockdown. And attendees were delighted.

It was back in-person, with a buffet offering of lectures, music, tours, and practical classes. The 73rd University of Cape Town (UCT) Summer School, which ran from 9 to 28 January, was a festival of open learning, also showcasing UCT’s excellent research.

The history of water over the past 370 years has dramatically shaped the city, said UCT’s Emeritus Professor Jenny Day in her Summer School lecture.

South Africa is in danger of becoming a mafia state and there is nothing the country’s current leadership can do to stop it, said author Jacques Pauw.

It’s a largely forgotten South African treason trial, but it once “had the world agog”. It also significantly shaped the country’s political development.

There are many reasons why human beings read, and as authors Helen Moffett and Bongani Kona note, the answers can be shared among several people.

UCT’s Emeritus Professor Jan Glazewski presented a Summer School lecture on how he located treasured pieces of family silver 80 years after they were buried.

The 73rd Summer School is back in-person in January 2023 with livestreams to Kensington, Hout Bay and Philippi communities as it extends its reach.